Monday, September 15, 2014

A Blog of Blessings

It's a privilege to share some of God's recent blessings!
  • Our morning devotional material is perfectly connecting God's word with our spiritual needs.
  • God is answering our prayers for greater dependence on Him, greater intimacy with Him, and greater trust in Him.
  • We're very excited to be two weeks into a 32-week Bible study/discipleship group which builds on the 28-week study we completed earlier this spring.
  • Personal ministry opportunities are opening for us in the local community.
But there's more!

Helicopter Ride
One never knows what's going to be happening up at the local airport. An earlier post reported on our discovery of the Met Life blimp "Snoopy 2" tethered at Burlington Regional Airport. On another visit to the airport we started a conversation with mechanics working on UNC Medical Center's helicopter and ended up having "Pilot Dan" take us along as part of the helicopter's "return to service" process. WooHoo! That was a dream come true for Karen and for me.

Karen inspects the helicopter while the mechanics finished their work.

Pilot Dan and Karen strapped in the cockpit.

Karen waves as the helicopter rises in a hover.

And off they go!

That's me giving the "thumbs up" as we landed after my flight.

Personal Retreat
We were blessed to go on an all-too-brief spiritual retreat as husband and wife to a bed & breakfast in Tennessee geared toward ministering to those in ministry.



Visitors From Grass Valley, CA
And then two of our dear friends from our sending church in California, Calvary Bible Church, stopped by for an overnight visit! Darrell and Pam have been with us since the earliest days of my return to Christ in 1994 and my calling to ministry in 1996. It was so fun to finally welcome them to "the field" and spend some focused time in prayer, conversation, and fellowship.

Pam & Karen

Darrell & me

 Family Photo

Darrell and Pam were kind enough to take a family portrait before they left! That's Tanner on the left and Tucker on the right.

THANK YOU
Thank you for loving us and caring for us through your friendship, prayers, gifts, and encouragement. We praise God for each of you as each of you are part of every blessing God so graciously bestows on us.

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." Ephesians 3:16-17 (NLT)

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Coshocton, OH: Appalachian Bacon Nation

While our newly adopted region of North Carolina (Burlington/Graham) does have its share of cultural events...sometimes something comes along back in Coshocton, Ohio that makes us fondly remember our years "up north." We thought we'd share this web link for your enjoyment...and to enable you to clear your calendar should you wish to make arrangements to be in Coshocton for the 2014 APPALACHIAN BACON NATION Festival!

Don't miss the "Bacon and Legs" 5K race!